Archbishop Adam (Philipovsky)
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Archbishop Adam (Philipovsky) (1881-1956)
The family name may be spelt as “Philipovsky”, “Phillipovsky”, “Phillipowsky”, “Filipovsky”, “Fillipovsky”, “Filipowsky”, “Phillipowsky”, etc.
Early life of Adam Apollinarievitch Philipovsky
On 30 January, 1881, Adam Apollinarievitch Philipovsky-Philipenko was born in Ruda, Galicia, an area of southwestern Poland which is associated with Trans-Carpathian Russia. His family name may well be associated with the nearby village Filipowice, or even with one of its founders, Philip of Tworkowa.
Regardless, his father was an Orthodox Christian priest, who belonged to an ancient family.
Adam Apollinarievitch received his primary and secondary education near his home. He first attended the national school. Afterwards, he entered the high school ("gymnasium") in the city of Berezhana. While he was in the gymnasium, he led a secret literary and educational circle for the study of Russian history and literature (this was forbidden in the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
He graduated from high school in 1900.
Higher education
He entered the University of Lviv, where he first studied theology, but then he moved to the Faculty of Law.
Move to the USA, 1903
After the first state exams in 1903, he left for the USA, where he began to publish his articles in the Russian-language press, mainly in the newspaper "Pravda". He soon became its editor.
He sang in the choir of the archbishop of the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America, and he met with Archbishop Tikhon (Belavin), Archpriest Alexander Hotowitzky and Priest Alexander Nemolovskiy. Under their influence, he decided to prepare for the Holy Priesthood.
In 1905, he returned to Lviv in order to complete his studies in theology at the University of Lviv.
He graduated in 1908.
At some date, he was married to a woman who was a widow. This fact would ordinarily disqualify him for ordination to any rank, in accordance with the Holy Canons.
In 1912, he returned to the USA. He was immediately presented as a candidate for ordination. The irregular state of his marriage raised some questions, but any ordination would not have taken place without the blessing (with some sort of "economia") of the Most Holy Synod in Saint Petersburg.
Diaconal ordination, 1912
On 14 September, 1912, Adam Philipovsky-Philipenko was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Bishop Alexander (Nemolovsky).
Presbyteral ordination, 1912
On 17 September, 1912, Deacon Adam Philipovsky-Philipenko was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Bishop Alexander (Nemolovsky).
Pastoral service
The Priest Adam Philipovsky-Philipenko was first assigned to Saint Michael's Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in order to improve the organisation of the parish there.
In 1914, he was transferred to Newark, New Jersey, and he also served in Brooklyn, New York, and in New York City.
He served as the editor of the newspaper "Svit" ("The Light"), and secretary of the Society "Adherent of Orthodoxy".
During World War I, he served as the president of the Carpatho-Russian National League. He also wrote a memorandum which supported the liberation of Carpatho-Russia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In 1915 and 1916, he taught in the diocese's seminary in Tenafly, New Jersey. At the same time, he was a member of the Teaching Committee of the diocese.
Bereavement
By 1916, the wife of Father Adam Philipovsky-Philipenko had fallen asleep in the Lord.
Transfer to Winnipeg, 1916
In 1916, Priest Adam Philipovsky was sent to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
There, he served at Holy Trinity Cathedral. While he was there, it is reported that he was a supporter of the views of Viktor Hladyk, a supporter of the reactionary Russian National Party in Galicia, which was subsidised by the Imperial Russian foreign ministry.
During a service in 1917, after the liberal and democratic February Revolution had overthrown the Russian monarchy, some of the faithful shouted 'the tsar has been put out to pasture' while Phillipowsky was praying for the deposed Nicholas II. Rival parties also clashed at a June convention of the Russian Orthodox Church when a large number of Ukrainian members called for Ukrainian autonomy in a federal and democratic Russian state and rejected Philipowsky's proposal that Galicia, Bukovyna and Carpatho-Ruthenia be incorporated into a restored Russian Empire.
In 1916, Archbishop Evdokim (Meshchersky) of the Aleutians was appointed dean of Orthodox parishes in Canada. In 1916, the Canadian deanery became the Diocese of Canada. He helped Bishop Alexander of Canada (Nemolovskiy) in carrying out a mission among the Carpathian Uniates, participated in discussions with them.
In 1916, Archbishop Evdokim (Meschersky) responded to the writings of Archimandrite Adam by saying, "I am glad that you have fallen in love with the Russian Canadians and wish to work hard for them".
Monastic tonsure, 1916
In 1916, the Priest Adam Philipovsky-Philipenko was tonsured to be a monk by Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky). In tonsure, he was given the name Adam in memory of a different saint. Moreover, his family name was reduced to Philipovsky.
The Hieromonk Adam (Philipovsky) was immediately elevated to the dignity of archimandrite.
Administrator of the Diocese of Canada, 1917
Although Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky) remained in charge of the Diocese of Canada, he was now able to be in Canada only for brief visits. Thus, in 1917, he assigned Archimandrite Adam (Philipovsky) to serve as the actual administrator of the Diocese of Canada. He became a frequent visitor to parishes, and his visits left a lasting positive memory.
However, these years marked the beginning of the turmoil and confusion that accompanied the Bolshevik revolution in Russia.
According to the memoirs of the Ukrainian Orthodox priest Peter Sametz, it was Archimandrite Adam who, at the "Cleveland Sobor" of 1919, strongly and successfully resisted the proposal that the newly-established Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada be led by Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky).
Episcopal ordination, 1922
Archimandrite Adam (Philipovsky) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate in 1922 by Bishop Stephen (Dzubay) (the Bishop of Pittsburgh, who had been the senior Vicar-Bishop to Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky)), together with Bishop Gorazd (Pavlik) of Moravia and Silicia (who was at that time visiting in the USA).
Episcopal service
At that time, Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky) was still the ruling bishop of the Russian North American Diocese, and Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) had not yet fully taken up the administration of the North American diocese.
However, Bishop Stephen had acted in this ordination as the self-proclaimed “acting head” of the diocese, since he did not accept the oral appointment by Patriarch Tikhon of Metropolitan Platon as Archbishop Alexander’s successor. This action in itself introduced a question about the correctness of this ordination.
Divisions
The situation was becoming extremely difficult. The arrival and the intervention of the "Renovationists" from the USSR helped to accelerate the process of fragmentation of the single Orthodox diocese in North America into several entities divided along ethnic lines, which was demanded by several of the Autocephalous Local Orthodox Churches.
After the confirmation by Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin) of the assignment of Metropolitan Platon to be the head of the North American diocese in 1922, the newly-ordained Bishop Adam joined with Bishop Stephen (Dzubay) in establishing an independent “diocese” of Carpatho-Rusyn communities consisting mainly of parishes in the northeastern USA. When Bishop Stephen left the Orthodox Church in 1924, Bishop Adam succeeded to the leadership. This entity was not accepted as an official and canonical diocese, although it seems somehow to have been tolerated, partly because of the chaotic ecclesiastical situation at the time in North America. Because of its existence for some time, when a second large group of Carpatho-Rusyns wished to enter the Orthodox Church, they were referred by the "Metropolia" to Bishop Adam as being the bishop for the Carpatho-Rusyns. They did not follow this advice, but rather appealed to the Patriarch of Constantinople, and the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese was established.
At least 10 communities in western Canada followed Bishop Adam in his departure, and there was a long-lasting effect from this division (until the present).
In 1925, Bishop Adam was involved in the “ownership” disputes over the Russian Cathedral of Saint Nicholas on 97th Street in New York City. During these years, there was a heated correspondence between Bishop Adam and Bishop Arseny, in which Vladyka Arseny of Winnipeg exhorted Bishop Adam to return to a normal and canonical relationship with his brother bishops.
In 1930, Bishop Adam was accepted into the canonical administration of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) and he was assigned to serve as the Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a Vicar-Bishop of the North American Diocese.
By the decision of the Synod of the ROCOR on 12 June, 1930, Bishop Adam was designated as the First Vicar-Bishop of the North American Diocese.
However, by 1931, he had departed from the ROCOR.
Bishop Adam is credited with writing in 1931 a Russian language play, entitled “Maxim Sandovich”, about the martyred Priest Saint Maxim Sandovich in Carpatho-Rus’.
In 1933, Bishop Adam made his first attempt to be reconciled with the Moscow Patriarchate, but the first attempt was unsuccessful.
Bishop Adam, 1930s
Reconciliation with the "Metropolia", 1935
In 1935, Bishop Adam rejoined the North American Diocese of the "Metropolia" as a Vicar-Bishop (Archbishop of Philadelphia and the Carpatho-Rusyns) under Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky).
He was assigned to serve as the bishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia and the Carpathian Diocese.
In 1936 Bishop Adam was elevated to the dignity of archbishop.
During the latter part of the 1930s, Archbishop Adam (Philipovsky) was involved in the clergy dispute at the Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers, New York, which was finally settled in 1940 with the New York Courts’ recognition of the legitimacy of the North American Diocese and of Metropolitan Theophilus’ election as ruling bishop.
Archbishop Adam (seated, left) with Holy Synod, late 1930s
In 1939, the Moscow Patriarchate deposed Archbishop Adam from the episcopate for disobedience.
Reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate, 1944
In 1943-1944, he appealed to Patriarch Sergius of Moscow for restoration as archbishop. The appeal was initially denied (due possibly to his marriage to a widow).
On 21 November, 1944, after hearing the report of Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarusevich) of Krutitsky, the Bishop's Sobor of the Russian Orthodox Church admitted him to the Episcopate of the Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Americas, and he was blessed to remain in the rank of archbishop (particularly "for his patriotic work in favour of the Soviet Union and the Mother Church". He was included in the North American Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate under the exarch, Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov).
In 1945, Archbishop Adam initiated a memorandum that was sent to the Ambassador of the USSR and to the UN, on the inclusion of the Holm, Lemko and Carpatho-Rus' regions within the USSR. He held congresses of representatives of organisations, parishes and the public in the USA.
In 1946 and 1950, Archbishop Adam visited the USSR.
From 21 August, 1947 to 31 October, 1947, Archbishop Adam was temporarily assigned to lead the exarchate as its locum tenens.
In 1953, Archbishop Adam was appointed to be Vicar to the Patriarchal exarchate in America.
From 21 August to 31 October, 1947, he served as the temporary administrator of the Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Americas.
In 1953, he was assigned to serve as the Deputy to the Head of the Russian Orthodox Exarchate in America.
Retirement, 1954
On 30 July, 1954, according to the decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Adam was released from his responsibilities, and he was retired with a pension for health reasons.
The 1956 edition of the Yearbook of American Churches lists Archbishop Adam (Philipovsky) as the “Officer” of the Russian Orthodox Catholic Church, Archdiocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America (the Russian Exarchate).
The archbishop later retired to a nursing home because of illness.
Repose, 1956
Archbishop Adam (Philipovsky) reposed on 29 April, 1956 in Philadelphia. He was survived by his sister, Xenia Lialko.
His body was interred in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Maspeth, Queens, New York City.
— Bishop of Winnipeg and Canada 1922-1926. Preceded by : ____. Succeeded by : ____.
— Vicar-Bishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1935-1939.
— Bishop in the Moscow Patriarchate Exarchate 1944-1953.
— Temporary Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate Exarchate 1947.
— Vicar-Bishop of the Moscow Exarchate 1953-1954.
— Former Vicar-Bishop of the Moscow Exarchate 1954-1956.
References
A biography of Archbishop Adam in "Religion.wikia"
“The Russian Mission in North America”
Russian Religious Leaders Abroad biography
Russian Encyclopaedia biography
Additional information :
Sametz, William, "My Father the Priest : The life and times of the Very Reverend Dr. Peter Sametz" (Toronto : Hypertex Plus, 2008). ISBN : 9780969670056.
Obituary in the "Philadelphia Enquirer", 1 May, 1956
Copy of 1930 document, Decision of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
Article in OCA Archives about the Russian Mission
Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky)
Archbishop Alexander (Nemolovsky)
Archbishop Evdokim (Meschersky)
Metropolitan Theophilus (Pashkovsky)
Metropolitan Leonty (Turkevich)
Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov)
Orthodoxwiki article about the Church of Russia
Orthodoxwiki article about the Russian Exarchate in North America
Reference to Archbishop Adam in "The Living Church", vol. 147.
ROCOR Studies article about Bishop Stephen (Dzubay)
Orthodoxwiki article about Bishop Stephen (Dzubay)
Wikipedia article about Bishop Stephen (Dzubay)
1932 List of Clergy and Churches under the Jurisdiction of the Carpatho-Russsian Bishop